# Effect of a homemade diet compared to a commercial diet on glycaemic variability and glycaemic control assessed by continuous glucose monitoring system in diabetic dogs: a randomised crossover study

## TL;DR

This study compared homemade and commercial diets in diabetic dogs and found that the homemade diet had a better effect on glucose levels.

## Contribution

The study provides new evidence on dietary effects on glucose control in diabetic dogs using continuous glucose monitoring.

## Key findings

- The homemade diet significantly reduced serum cholesterol in diabetic dogs.
- The homemade diet decreased the percentage of time above glucose range compared to the commercial diet.
- There were no differences in glycaemic variability metrics or overall glycaemic control between the diets.

## Abstract

To evaluate the effects of a homemade diet and a commercial diet on glycaemic control and glycaemic variability of diabetic dogs monitored with the FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system.

Prospective randomised crossover study including ten client‐owned diabetic dogs on insulin treatment with good glycaemic control. Dogs were randomly assigned to receive either a moderate‐fibre (total dietary fibre: 2.2 g/100 kcal ME) homemade diet or a high‐fibre (total dietary fibre: 4.8 g/100 kcal ME) dry commercial diet in a 2 × 6‐week period. Dogs were re‐evaluated every 2 weeks. Clinical and clinicopathological variables, selected continuous glucose monitoring system‐derived and glycaemic variability metrics, glucose nadir and postprandial hyperglycaemia were recorded. Differences between diets were analysed by a repeated measure ANOVA fitting a crossover design with pairwise comparisons.

There were no differences in insulin dose and glycaemic control levels between the two dietary periods. The homemade diet significantly reduced serum cholesterol concentration (mean difference: 76 mg/dL; 95% CI: −51.97 to 204 mg/dL). The percentage of time above glucose range was significantly lower (mean difference: −22.5%; 95% CI: −43.9% to −1.08%) and the percentage of time below range higher (mean difference: 6.9%; 95% CI: 1.38% to 12.4%) during the homemade diet period. The percentage of time in range and glycaemic variability metrics were not different between the two diets.

The homemade diet and commercial diet can be considered valid dietary options in diabetic dogs. The results suggest that, with regard to the diets examined, the homemade diet might have a more effective glucose‐lowering effect compared to the commercial diet.